Entertainment TV Scripted TV Shows Three More 'SNL' Stars Exit: Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari Won't Join Season 48 Seven Saturday Night Live cast members from season 47 will not be returning to the fall in a wave kicked off by the May exits of Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney By Kelly Wynne Kelly Wynne Kelly Wynne has been a TV writer at PEOPLE digital since 2021. Her work has been seen in Newsweek, where she acted as a reality TV and true-crime writer, Atwood Magazine and her mental health blog, The Chronically. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 1, 2022 03:15PM EDT Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty; Patrick McMullan via Getty; Theo Wargo/Getty Saturday Night Live is now three more cast members down ahead of its upcoming fall premiere — full-time stars Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat and featured comedian Aristotle Athari won't return for season 48. Villaseñor was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Moffat often portrayed Eric Trump (and even had a stint as both presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden) in addition to joining "Weekend Update" regularly as the memorably sleazy "Guy Who Just Bought a Boat." A rep for SNL declined to comment on the three additional exits. Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney Leaving Saturday Night Live: Report Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Four more longtime SNL stars — Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney — kicked off the cast exodus in May with announcements of their departures at the end of season 47. McKinnon, 38, opened up in July about why it was her time to leave the series after 11 seasons. "I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard," she said on Live with Kelly and Ryan. "All I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on Saturday Night Live. So, I did. I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was just like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time." Pete Davidson Addresses His Future on SNL: 'I'm Ready to Hang Up the Jersey' Bryant also revealed she would have left SNL sooner had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic. "If it weren't for COVID, I probably would have left a few years earlier. But it was such a huge change," she told Variety. "When COVID hit, it was so jarring that we were all like, 'I'm definitely going to come back next year.'" Of her final season, Bryant admitted, "This year wasn't the normal year that I hoped for, but it was closer to that. It was like, 'OK, it's really time now.' And 10 [seasons] felt like a nice, solid round number." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories Season 48 of Saturday Night Live is expected to return to NBC this fall. Close